Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

I’ve had so much fun writing a monthly spice column for www.Spice4Life.co.za based in Cape Town, South Africa, an “everything” site about life and all the good things it holds. I contribute an article each month about my favorite spice for their impressive audience of 2.9 million monthly visitors.

Since I was invited to contribute at the beginning of the year, with a debut on Valentine’s Day (how fitting for LOVE!) I’ve written about ginger, garlic, garam masala, sumac and now basil. Is there a spice you can’t get enough of as the days start to turn cooler? I’m not saying that summer is over, but this week is definitely not as hot as last.

Sumac is a wonderful spice – not the poisonous kind but lemony and nice! It is used in many Arab, Iranian and Turkish cuisines. I like to use it on roast chicken or roasted vegetables. They say you can also sprinkle it directly on salads, rice and hummus, which I have not yet tried.

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has to be on this crazy diet to cut down on his acid intake. He has had a constant cough that apparently if left unchecked, can turn into esophageal cancer. Yikes! Therefore I am not allowed to use any garlic, onions, peppers of any kind, lemons or any citrus for nearly 6 months! All the things that give recipes the real flavor! So I have been struggling to cook around all of this. Fresh ginger and herbs de Provence have become my new best friends and so has sumac! Roasted sumac chicken with roasted Jerusalem artichokes

Sumac is a beautiful purply red, coarse ground powder. I recommend a heavy sprinkling on a chicken before roasting. Check out my Roast Chicken recipe and sprinkle the sumac all over to coat. See the photos above for before and after cooking. So give it a go and let me know what you think!

I am so excited to announce that I have been invited to be a monthly contributor to Spice 4 Life, a South African online magazine for women. Spice 4 Life is ranked as one of South Africa’s most popular independently owned websites, focused on connecting and inspiring women within South Africa and internationally and currently garnering upwards of 1.9 million hits per month! They are a hub for connection and support, touching on business, family, home, health, nutrition, fashion and beauty as well as promoting active contributions to society.

My intro for LOVE – the secret ingredient was on none other than Valentine’s Day! I will be writing about a featured spice or special ingredient each month. What fun!

Their web address is http://www.spice4life.co.za/ I am on page 1 of the featured section on the home page. Please check it out and let me know what you think!